Author: by Staff

Each month, the NPD Group releases a limited set of video game sales data for the U.S. industry, including a closely watched list of the top 10-selling software titles. But with dozens of games released each month across no fewer than six console and handheld platforms, there aren't enough data points to see how games are selling on each platform. However, in coordination with the NPD Group, Gamasutra presents exclusive data on the top 5 titles for each of the current-generation consoles. The PlayStation 3's top 5 software are as follows:

Grand Theft Auto IV and Metal Gear Solid 4's dominance of the listing isn't a huge surprise, though it should be noted that the latter's numbers do not include the Collector's Edition or copies bundled with 80GB PlayStation 3 units. Both titles were heavily promoted and seen as "system sellers. Rockstar Games' GTA IV moved 1.4 million copies (including the Collector's Edition) in its first two months, while Konami's MGS sold around a million in its first month when hardware bundled copies were counted. Surprisingly, the ranking shows that Activision's Call of Duty 4 for the PS3 sold above 600,000 units in 2008, despite initially shipping in early November, 2007. Also surprising is Gran Turismo 5: Prologue grabbing the fifth place spot right under Electronic Arts' Madden NFL 09 and ahead of Capcom's Devil May Cry 4, the latter of which was likely expected by most to beat out GT5P. Depending on how well GT5P sold through the PlayStation Store, it is possible that the racing game sold more copies (via retail and download combined) than the PS3 version of Madden NFL 09. You can read the full feature, which also includes an analysis of the top 5 selling games for Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii (no registration required, please feel free to link to this feature from other websites).